“I expect them to tell me things about myself I don't know...”

“Lost in my dreams, I somehow cross at the traffic signals, bumping into street lamps or people, yet moving onward, exuding fumes of beer and grime, yet smiling, because my briefcase is full of books and that very night I expect them to tell me things about myself I don't know.”

“I never have people tell me their stories. I usually have to figure them out myself. Because I know that if people tell me stories, they will expect them to be remembered. And I cannot guarantee that. There is no way to know if the stories stay after I'm gone. And how devastating would it be to confide in someone and have the confidence disappear? I don't want to be responsible for that.”

“I go in alone, for there is no one for me, but I don't care, I tell myself; I'd expected no one.—Ruth”

“I tell myself that I know you,and then when I think about it, I realize that I don't.”

“The only thing about myself I know for sure is that I don't know anything.”